The Kansas Jayhawks are just three games into the 2026 season, but the injuries are already piling up.
What started with Daveon “Bam” Crouch going down in the second drive against LIU in week one has most recently seen Yasin Willis go down against Arizona State in last weekend’s Union Jack Classic. In the middle of those two have been a plethora of other injuries, namely backup quarterback Cole Ballard and tight end Carson Bruhn.
Wideout Cam Pickett has seen just two receptions this season as he is still in recovery from an injury, and it's also relevant to mention defensive tackle Tre’Von McAlpine’s season-ending injury suffered in the preseason.
Looking at the running back room, that is a corps that's been hit hard. Heading into Arizona State, the last availability report listed Jalen Dupree as available, which was an unknown heading into the game. Backup running back Justin Thurman was also ruled out prior to the matchup, leaving truly Dylan Edwards, Willis and Micah Johnson.
Then, as previously mentioned, Willis went down against the Sun Devils, leaving Edwards and Johnson as the only two running backs who had logged valuable minutes 100% healthy.
What ensued was 179 rushing yards across 41 attempts, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt against ASU, not a bad mark, but the available depth worries head coach Lance Leipold.
“Jalen Dupree hasn’t been healthy, got nicked up in practice the other day. He wasn't really available. Didn't do much of the last four days of practice. Micah Johnson's there, you know, we're down on guys there right now,” opened Leipold following the 24-17 loss.
So far this season, KU has ranked 79th in rushing yards per game with 129.5.
“We can't do much about it, but you have to be creative and see where it takes us. But, yeah, I would be misleading you if I didn't say it was a concern right now.”
While Leipold has provided a brutally realistic approach to Kansas’ injury situations, starting quarterback Isaiah Marshall was asked how he has dealt with the constant chop and change across the offense.
“I feel like it's still next man up, you know, it sucks to lose those guys, but, I feel like the guys that stepped in, played great, Micah played great, Tate [Nagy], [Bryson] Hayes, so I still trusted those guys. It was a point in the game where I had no clue we had guys down. I just was out there playing, 'cause I trusted my teammates.”
Is now the right time for a bye week?
Truthfully, probably not.
There is no disrespect here toward the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, but you shouldn’t need your best players for 60 minutes. So if Kansas was given the option to play next week and then have the bye week slotted somewhere else to avoid a nine-game stretch to end the season, surely the Jayhawks would snatch up that opportunity.
But that isn’t the case.
If you wanted to spin this in a more positive light, it does mean players like Crouch, Pickett, Willis, Bruhn and others have two weeks where they shouldn’t be missed, giving them extended time to hopefully be back by the slog of Big 12 play.
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